Bonds
by AdidasRed
Summary: When Rin got kidnapped by Sesshoumaru's long time enemy, he had to work with Inuyasha to find her. New bonds were forged on the way and past mistakes were forgotten. Will his relationship with Inuyasha change? Non- Yaoi.
1. Chapter 1

Bonds- Chapter 1

"Look out!"

Sesshoumaru turned towards the source of the voice.

"Inuyasha?" He was surprised! _What is that halfbreed doing here? Didn't i tell him to stay away? That insufferable wretch, he'll get killed at this rate!_

And then suddenly, he sensed Ryouku charging towards him with a malicious smirk on his face, fangs gleaming under the sunlight, sword raised- all prepared to attack him.

"Today shall be the day that I will finally defeat you, Sesshoumaru! The Western Lands will _soon_ have a new leader_._ And that _lovely_ lady Rin", he said with eyes and voice _full_ of lust..."she will be mine!"

Upon hearing that, Sesshoumaru began to lose all manner of control that had taken him years to perfect. His instincts were nagging at him to save Rin! Save Inuyasha! Protect them!

_Protect?_

_Since when do I protect others? Rin maybe, but...Inuyasha?_ At that moment, he saw a glimpse of himself in the past with his father before he died a long time ago, his father asking him,"Tell me Sesshoumaru, have you someone to protect?"

_Father, I Sesshoumaru have no need of such._

Without warning,Sesshoumaru suddenly felt a terrible pain on his right shoulder and he was flung back towards the tree behind him. That bastard!

_This sesshoumaru was distracted by the past_, he grimaced. It was then that the wretched Miko who was working with Ryouku chose to send a purifying arrow towards him.

Sesshoumaru felt an intense pain coursing through his entire being. The pink light from the miko's arrow had managed to hit his injured shoulder, rendering his right arm weak and useless. Seeing Sesshoumaru in his weakened state, the miko then fired another purifying arrow at him. The arrow made a path of blinding pink light before it hit its target. The last thing he remembered was the image of Inuyasha, back towards him, tetsusaiga unleashing the Meido Zangetsuha and sending that miko to hell. And Rin... _Rin_!

"Lord Sesshoumaru!"

X.

Inuyasha flung his sword to the ground and cursed himself for allowing Ryouku to retreat with Rin while he was dispatching the miko to hell. "Dammit!" He began running towards where Sesshoumaru was lying, unconscious...or so it seemed. _Don't you die, Sesshoumaru!_ _Don't you dare make me feel guilty for the rest of my life! _And as he came closer and finally had a good look at his brother, he began to panic at the sight before him.

"Sesshoumaru!", he bellowed. _Kami please, protect him! I don't want him to leave me...Isn't the reason obvious enough? He's the only family that I have left._.. _The only one left, _he added.

He found his brother lying in a pool of blood, his right shoulder bleeding and eyes closed, face scrunched up in pain. No demon could ever escape a miko's purifying arrow alive. " Tell me this is just a nightmare. Please Sesshoumaru, say something! Anything!", he pleaded.

With a gentleness he never knew he possessed, Inuyasha lifted his brother's head and cradled him near to his chest. Seeing his brother lying so still against him and being able to touch him like that without getting a claw swiped in his direction; it was unnatural. Wiping away the signs of blood on Sesshoumaru's face, he tried searching for any sign of breathing. _Just...say something to tell me that you're still alright, _he prayed. _I still need you, brother._

Eyes closed, Inuyasha tried hard to prevent the tears that were threatening to fall. He clenched his eyes as tightly as he could, knowing that he had to be strong for his brother's sake. And at that moment, Sesshoumaru's eyelids slowly began to slide open, revealing a pair of beautiful golden eyes. Those eyes that looked so much like his and were filled with disdain when directed at him. " Inuyasha...?" His voice had lost their usual calm and smoothness.

"I'm here, brother" Inuyasha said. _He's alive_, he thought. Thank goodness. He just knew that Sesshoumaru was too powerful to be killed by the likes of a Miko.

"Where is Rin?"

_Rin... _Inuyasha's relief was shortlived_._ Upon hearing Sesshoumaru's weak voice asking for Rin, it took everything in his willpower to not start bawling like a kid. How could he tell Sesshoumaru that he had failed? That the one thing Sesshoumaru had fought to protect, was taken away so easily? That she was crying and pleading for him to save her when she was in Ryouku's hands? And that Inuyasha couldn't even prevent that bastard from taking her away?

"He managed to get away with her. I'm sorry Sesshoumaru... I was a total failure. Tetsusaiga couldn't protect her. **_I_** couldn't protect her." _and_ _I... I had failed you. _

Immediately he felt a sharp spike in Sesshoumaru's aura and he looked down, gasping as he saw Sesshoumaru, eyes bleeding red and fangs elongating, the twin pair of magenta stripes on his cheek becoming more jagged by the second. Sesshoumaru was on the verge of transforming into his true youkai form out of instincts. He needed to find Rin before that fool Ryouku could do anything else to hurt her!

Inuyasha couldn't stand to be in a close proximity with his brother's youki radiating off him in large deadly waves. He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck standing unnaturally upright. He couldn't keep himself from suppressing a whine to tell Sesshoumaru that his all too powerful aura was scaring him into submission. _You're scaring me, brother! Calm down.  
_

Hearing Inuyasha's intimidated whine brought Sesshoumaru back to reality. His transformation was stopped midway as he reverted back to his humanoid form in a flash of blinding white light that forced Inuyasha to lift his right arm and shield his eyes.

"Inuyasha. You worthless half breed! You couldn't even protect Rin! You.." He was cut off by a hacking cough that racked his entire frame. Sesshoumaru's vision began to blur as he tasted blood in his mouth. He needed to rest! His forced attempt to transform in his severely weakened state had used up every last bit of energy he had left in his body. And as his feet start to sway, knees weakened, head spinning dizzily, he barely noticed Inuyasha lunging forward to catch him as he fell to the ground in a graceful sweep.

Reviews please! =)


	2. Chapter 2

Bonds- Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own all the characters of Inuyasha.

Sesshoumaru woke up to the sound of thunder that reverberated throughout the place. It took him a moment to register where he was. _Inside a cave?_ He could hear someone breathing next to him and his scent clearly told him that it was none other than Inuyasha.

Inuyasha...His eyes widened as harsh reality came back crashing to him, hard.

_I remember now. Rin...she had been taken away by that bastard Ryouku. And this Sesshoumaru had been injured by that human miko, his counterpart. That wretch... _At that, Sesshoumaru's eyes began to bleed red._ He will pay for what he did to this Sesshoumaru!_ Just thinking about what happened made Sesshoumaru lose his control all over again. But this time, he found that he couldn't transform. Hell, he couldn't even move his body properly yet.

The sharp spike in Sesshoumaru's aura woke Inuyasha up with a jolt. Immediately he sat up straight and tilted his head down to look at his brother, who was currently lying beside him. "Sesshoumaru?" he asked. " Are you alright? I don't wanna say this but you kinda passed out when you tried to transform back then, so yea." Inuyasha told him.

Sesshoumaru's eyes moved around to take in the surrounding area before finally coming to rest on his brother. Was it just him or was that a hint of concern that he heard in his brother's voice? Inuyasha was concerned about him? _Hn, _Sesshoumaru snorted. Since when did things change between them? " I didn't know you hold such strong feelings for me, little brother. I assume you would have used the opportunity to kill me while I was still... unaware of my surroundings. The thought of you even bothering to bring me to this cave is truly, should I say, astounding." With that, Sesshoumaru closed his eyes once more, taking in the sound of the heavy rain pounding onto the rocks outside the cave.

Inuyasha took sometime to comprehend his brother. _Kill him while he was unconscious? _He let out a disbelieving laugh._ Quite the opposite actually; that was the last thing on my mind_.

"While the thought of killing you has its appeals, I can assure you Sesshoumaru, doing that was the last thing on my mind at that time .I wouldn't even try to." Even though Inuyasha sounded calm on the outside when he said that, however inside, he was actually quite furious. How could Sesshoumaru think that? Didn't his change in attitude towards his brother in the past several months after Kagome's death told him anything?

Inuyasha didn't charge at Sesshoumaru anymore when he sensed his presence nearby like he used to do before that. He never unleashed the Meido Zangetsuha at Sesshoumaru anymore when they were fighting like he used to last time; he just couldn't. Meido Zangetsuha was too risky a move to be launched at his brother... Hadn't all those actions told Sesshoumaru anything about his change in feelings towards his brother? That he didn't want to harm his brother anymore? That he needed his brother more than anything else ever since Kagome's death?

"How very admirable of you, Inuyasha", Sesshoumaru affirmed him. _His version of thanks_, Inuyasha thought.

"However i do concede that I am nowhere near fine right now. My body still refuses to listen to me. I can barely move much more than i already have."

_He's revealing to me his weakness? Unbelievable._ "Uh, fine by me...I guess." Inuyasha was at a lost for words. "Uh, I'll leave when the rain stops. For now, I'll be- somewhere in this cave." Not knowing what else to say, he added, "Call me if you need anything." _Which I doubt you __would_, Inuyasha added mentally.

When there was no response except for the constant sound of the rain, Inuyasha turned to his brother's direction, only to find that Sesshoumaru was already fast asleep, face relaxed, chest rising and falling evenly as he breathed in and out. Lips slightly parted. 

_He looks so peaceful... _Inuyasha thought_. I have never seen him look so peaceful in my entire life._ He smiled and began to relax- releasing all the tension in his body, laying back to lean on the cave wall. Inuyasha began to ponder. _Maybe I had been wrong. Maybe... those few months of my change in attitude did tell him something. For him to be resting, unguarded with me around him like this; had he finally put some sense of trust in me?_

Inuyasha turned to look at Sesshoumaru's sleeping form and for the first time, he began to notice Sesshoumaru's demonic markings that screamed pure demon blood. The distinct blue crescent on his forehead, the 2 pairs of magenta stripes across both sides of his cheeks. His eyelashes, thick and long. His parted lips, revealing a set of sharp fangs, gleaming at him with the occasional flashes of lightning illuminating the cave.

Inuyasha chuckled quietly to himself as he imagined that his brother would've make a fine lady. With those fine features, all the real demonesses out there would be jealous of him. Maybe his future mate will be constantly reminded of how much prettier Sesshoumaru is compared to her. _Seriously, I bet she would be constantly rubbed in every time she looks at him, _Inuyasha thought. He had never seen any demon that could rival Sesshoumaru in terms of looks and power. But, that was also why the bastard Ryouku had stooped so low as to team up with a miko, a demon's enemy in nature, so as to try to defeat Sesshoumaru. That foolish miko. In the end, she died and lost everything while her counterpart managed to escape. _Humans could be so foolish sometimes_.

X.

Sesshoumaru woke up the next morning to find himself alone in the cave with the scent of morning air filling his nose. His head was still pounding, not making him any much better than the night before. It took him quite a while to get his bearings right. _So, the rain has finally stopped._ _Inuyasha... he had really kept his word and left_, he presumed as he relished in the sweet scent of morning dew. _So be it then. _He then tried to move his arm and legs but found that while he could move his legs, his right arm was still numb. _Useless, I am still half paralyzed. That miko must have been a powerful one, to have inflicted such serious injuries on this Sesshoumaru. "Rin", _he whispered softly_, "please wait for this Sesshoumaru to come for you"._

Finally he gave up trying to move and thought about what had transpired so far. It seems that he had trusted Inuyasha last night to not attack him while he was asleep. _When did that change? Somehow this Sesshoumaru has noticed his change of attitude towards me. He is somewhat, softer. Or should I say, more toned down ever since that miko of his died a few months ago. Its not that he could even scratch me, just that it seemed as though he did not wish to inflict any harm on me anymore when we fought. Does that mean that he seeks to be on good terms with this Sesshoumaru? Hn. _His eyes narrowed into disdainful slits with that last thought. _That can never be.__  
_

His thoughts were cut short when he sensed something approaching the cave. _Fool, _he snorted._ This Sesshoumaru might be half-paralyzed, but that doesn't mean some meager demon could attack me. _He was preparing to unleash his aura to warn the demon from coming any closer when the said demon finally reached the entrance of the cave and popped his all-too-familiar head to look inside. It turned out that it was of no threat at all.

" Milorddddd! You're all right! This lowly Jaken has been in search of you for days. I had done as you instructed me, milord. I had gone to find a village to get the supplies for Rin. But when I came back, you were nowhere to be found!", he wailed. " And the entire place was wrecked! This is terrible! Who could have done this to milorrddd-"

"Jaken. Stop your needless wailing at once. You are starting to give this Sesshoumaru a headache. Now fetch me some meat; I require something to eat. This Sesshoumaru needs to replenish his energy immediately. A boar will do. Now go!", Sesshoumaru instructed him.

"Right, at once milord!".

"That would be unnecessary". Upon hearing the voice, both Jaken and Sesshoumaru turned their heads towards the source. Inuyasha was standing at the cave entrance, a boar carcass on one hand, blood still dripping from it.

"Inuyasha? What are you doing back here?" Sesshoumaru inquired. " I had assumed you had left for good", he stated.

Inuyasha looked at his brother as though he was nuts. " Have you received head injury, Sesshoumaru? There's no way I could just leave you here without knowing if you've recovered or not. What if a hungry demon finds you? You might taste as good as you look, you know", he said as a matter-of-factly.

Hearing that, Jaken started to turn purple. "Howw-how dare you-you insult milord like that? You miserable hanyou! Milord, let me burn this brat to ashes for insulting you! How dare he-"

"Jaken", he was cut off by Sesshoumaru. "Leave."

"But bu-", he protested.

"Leave." This time Sesshoumaru's voice had a hint of warning in them. "R-right away, milord."

"Now hanyou, contrary to your belief, there are no head injuries involved. This Sesshoumaru simply thought you had kept your word and left when the rain had stopped. It seems that you had not kept your word after all, being the hanyou you are."

"Now listen, you bastard. Don't even think that I wanna stick to you. I had gone to search for food so that you could restore your energy more quickly, instead of having me nurse you back to health for a few more days. I don't think i could stand to be in your presence for long. Show some gratitude, would you?"

"I do not recall asking for your help Inuyasha. I can manage on my own. I am the strongest de-"

"Oh shut up, for once. Just shut up!" He was starting to get really annoyed by his asshole of a brother. He pulled his hand back and threw the dead boar at Sesshoumaru's feet as hard as he could, uncaring if it hits his brother- before storming off. _So much for helping and being concerned._

At this point, Sesshoumaru found that he had gained control of his arm once again and used this moment to unleash his whip at his brother before he could reach the cave entrance. The whip caught Inuyasha by surprise as it wrapped around his waist. "What the-"

Before he knew it, he was being lifted up and pulled back towards his brother. He landed on his back with a thud, right beside Sesshoumaru. In the next moment, he found Sesshoumaru sitting on top of him, legs pinning both his arms, teeth clenched and ready to bite if he even tried to move.

"Let me go, you bastard! What do you want?", he squirmed and moved under Sesshoumaru but failed to free himself. "Silence!" He felt Sesshoumaru's teeth giving him a warning nip on his ear.

_What the hell is he doing? _Inuyasha wondered as he finally stopped squirming. _Is he that hungry that he wants to eat my ear?_ Inuyasha thought with a horrified look on his face.

" I am still your older brother, Inuyasha. If you want me to treat you with respect, then I will expect the same of you.", he warned with a growl. "Know your place, halfbreed. Just because I trust and tolerate you doesn't mean that I will accept your amount of disrespect towards me. Remember that." With that, Sesshoumaru slowly closed his eyes. Stifling a sigh that was threatening to escape him, he let go of Inuyasha, tilting over and slowly landing on his back beside him, his hair pooling around him in a mess of silver. He had used up a lot of energy, dealing with his hanyou brother. He could feel his body beginning to weaken again.

Inuyasha got up and knelt beside his brother, hovering over his face. _He's letting me off with a warning? _His frowned in disbelief._ He ain't gonna kill me or something?_ His eyes fell onto his brother's face and he couldn't help but notice how tired his brother was. "Sesshoumaru, what's wrong with you? One minute you're up and then you're back down again like a log. You haven't recovered properly yet, you know. You should eat the boar that I got you." Then his voice faltered, "and... I'm sorry about what happened just now."

When he received no response, he lifted a claw to set aside the tangles of silver hair that was spread messily across his brother's face. Lo and behold, he immediately received a response from his brother, in the form of a grunt. "Inuyasha, I require rest, if you don't mind."

"No. You've got to eat first.", he said stubbornly while pulling the boar's carcass closer to him. "Sesshoumaru, how exactly are you gonna recover if your body lacks nourishment? Even demons need to eat. By extended,you are one injured demon." he asserted, eyebrows wrinkling at the same time. With that, Inuyasha began to shred the carcass into smaller pieces, thinking that it would be easier for his brother to consume.

Sesshoumaru slid his eyes open just in time to see a bloody hand holding a piece of the boar above his lips. "Open up, Sesshoumaru. Look? I've saved you the trouble of getting your hand dirty, alright." He received a dirty look for that.

"Inuyasha, cease treating me like a pup, you imbecile", he scowled. " I am capable of doing so myself." He then tried to sit up but failed miserably. "And you have just dropped some of the blood onto my face, you fool."

"Whatever." Inuyasha popped the unwanted piece of carcass into his mouth then lowered his hand and proceeded to use the back of it that was clean to wipe away the drop of blood on Sesshoumaru's chin. His brother froze and gave him a disapproving look when he registered what Inuyasha had just done.

Feigning indifference, Inuyasha then used his arm to lift Sesshoumaru to a sitting position without caring if he might reject his help and then handed over the rest of the boar to his brother, before getting up to find a stream to wash his hands that were dripping blood from the boar. The smell was starting to get at him.

All the while, he just continued to ignore his brother's startled expression. Right before he exited the cave, he turned to Sesshoumaru with a smirk on his face and warned him, while trying to stifle a laugh that was threatening to escape, " Careful brother, the entire place reeks of the boar. You are going to stink if you take your own sweet time eating that. Actually to be honest", he continued, "you already do." Then he had to duck as his brother threw a piece of the bloody boar carcass in his direction, narrowly missing him by an inch.

"Imbecile."

On his way to the stream, Inuyasha began to reflect on his actions earlier. As a matter of fact, he didn't know why he actually did all that. Maybe it was because seeing his brother alive and well had lifted his spirits. At that, he rolled his eyes; that bastard. Already able to use his poison whip and all. _He sure healed fast compared to me. But then again, I'm kinda glad that he didn't get killed by that one hell of a purifying arrow._

His thoughts were disrupted when he neared the stream._ Guess who's sulking beside the river? Oh yea, that pitiful excuse for a demon, Jaken. Seriously, why is he so green? And the ugly shade of green, at that._

Inuyasha's face begin to split as a massive grin slowly formed on his face. Careful not to let that green toad sense him, he positioned himself on a tree so that he was directly behind the toad. Then when the toad wasn't alert, Inuyasha lunged down and kicked him in the direction of the stream. All the while, he was laughing hysterically as Jaken went spiraling in the air for a moment before landing in the water with a loud splash._  
_

Back in the cave, Sesshoumaru had began eating the boar, careful not to drop any blood on his haori and hakama while speculating on Inuyasha. He found his brother to be too caring. _And trusting_, he mentally added, to be able to touch his face like that and not expecting his claws to swipe back at him. _But I didn't swipe him, did I__? I just stared at him. And being the fool that he is, he barely noticed it._ After a while of pondering, Sesshoumaru just shrugged it off and proceeded to concentrate on his current task- eating.

X.

I know the story's kinda going at a slow pace, but please bare with it! =) Reviews are greatly welcomed! Constructive ones are even more welcomed! Please don't be too harsh as this is my first fanfic. Thanks.


	3. Chapter 3

_Bonds- Chapter 3_

"There there, young lady. Do not be afraid of me." Ryouku said menacingly. " I'm not going to eat you up, I can assure you."

"Wh-who are you? What do you want from me?" Rin asked nervously as her eyes roamed about the entire place before glancing back at him. They rounded like saucers when she saw his face; it was full of malice. He had a pair of rough red stripes on his face, unlike her Lord Sesshoumaru who had a pair of smooth magenta stripes on each side of his cheek. His lips were pulled back and raised at the end, revealing a set of sharp fangs. _His eyes_, she gasped; they were red and filled with bitterness. A bad feeling was starting to form in her gut as she doubt that she would be able to escape from the foreign place alive on her own.

" I don't intend to keep you here as a hostage for long. I wouldn't harm you, my future _mate," _his voice dripping with lust as he said that._"_Meanwhile," he continued, " you shall do as I ask." With that, he threw a white kimono in her direction and instructed her, " You are to change into that at once" before pivoting on his heels and leaving the dark room.

Once he was out of her sight, Rin couldn't help but escape a sigh of relief. _Not for long though_, she thought. _I need to find a way out of here. _

For Rin, this was certainly not the first time that she had gotten kidnapped and then being threatened to marry some random youkai. If she counted properly, this was her 12th time like this. Usually Sesshoumaru will come by and rescue her after he'd killed off those random youkai and they'd continue with their normal routine happily ever after. Well, technically. Until another random youkai managed to kidnap her again. Except this time was quite different from those previous situations. This time, it was no random youkai.

It was Sesshoumaru's long time rival.

One who desperately wanted to steal the throne from Sesshoumaru himself.

That is why, this time, Rin was feeling scared. No one had ever managed to attack Sesshoumaru like this guy had. _I know that Lord Sesshoumaru will come for me, _she thought_, but... this time, he's seriously injured himself too. I can't just sit here and wait for him to save me, I'd be done with by that evil guy._ _Ugh! Who does he think he is, anyway? I wouldn't want to to be his mate- that fugly guy! _Her face was all scrunched up with disgust as she thought of that.

_Lord Sesshoumaru is so much prettier than him anyway. I bet he's just jealous of Sesshoumaru, that's why he feels threatened by him. _She couldn't help from letting out a small laugh as she imagined how that Ryouku guy would compare every part of himself-hair, abs, face, length of eyelash and not to mention power- with Sesshoumaru, and then sulking when he realized that Sesshoumaru won him in every department.

_Sighs, I shouldn't be too happy_, she thought. _Lord Sesshoumau raised no weakling; I won't surrender so easily without a fight,_ her morale already increasing as she scanned the area again_._ _First, I need to find a way to escape and fast_! With that, Rin got up to change into the white kimono, her eyes searching about the area at the same time as she tried to formulate an escape plan.

X.

Inuyasha was sitting on a tree, half naked near the stream he had used to wash and bathe earlier on while he dried his haori. Absently-mindedly, his eyes roamed about his two arms- starting from his biceps all the way down to his fingertips. He couldn't help but notice how much weight he had lost after Kagome's death. _At this rate,_ he thought, _I'll look no better than a walking skeleton soon. But I wonder though, if Sesshoumaru's afraid of skeletons. Maybe i could scare the shit outa him when he's sleeping sometime. But then again, _he realized, _it's never a good idea to catch him by surprise- it's pure suicide. _

_Talking about the freaking princess, here he comes._

Inuyasha tilted his head downwards just in time to see his brother strolling into the area, still managing to appear as regal as ever even in that condition- a bloodied hand, long but slightly dishevelled hair and a tail that just didn't look as white as before.

Whether Sesshoumaru really didn't sense him there or just pretending to not know, he had no idea, but he definitely wasn't intending to acknowledge Inuyasha's presence. Sesshoumaru continued his way to the stream, stopping at the edge and then bending down to clean off the blood from his hand, before proceeding to drink from it.

Then, to Inuyasha's suprise, he actually began to strip himself bare from head to toe- leaving Inuyasha at an awkward position. _Shit. Now what? _His brain was reeling for solutions. _Do I give away my presence now? Or should I just stay here until he leaves? Either way, he'd still accuse me of being a depraved bastard._

He was finally saved from making any decisions when he heard his brother insinuating,"I know you are there Inuyasha. I was hoping that you are sensible enough to know when to stop staring and leave at the right moment. It seems that this Sesshoumaru was certainly wrong in his assumption; you are indeed a perverted halfbreed."

Ouch. Inuyasha's face began to contort in anger. _Man, that's it, you're so going down, Sesshoumaru! _

With that, he leaped at his brother from his position in the tree, claws raised in preparation to attack. However,to his astonishment, it turned out that his brother had anticipated that attack coming from him. Using his demonic speed, Sesshoumaru stepped aside just in time, causing Inuyasha to claw at nothing but thin air and landing right into the stream, sending beads of water in every direction.

From his place in the stream, Inuyasha could clearly hear that filthy green toad, its laughter sounding too shrill for his ears. He snapped his head in its direction, narrowing his eyes at that thing though it didn't quite have the effect that he was hoping for; the stupid toad just continued to laugh at him triumphantly, to Inuyasha's dismay. _That_ was certainly not what he had in mind.

At that moment, Inuyasha wanted nothing more than to scream at his brother like a girl and beat the living shit out of him if he could so choose. He was absolutely furious. And not to mention, embarrassed. He was completely wet all over again after spending some effort drying off. Hell, instead of having to wait for his haori to dry, he now had to spend time drying off his hakama too. _Great,_ Inuyasha thought, his claws twitching madly, just itching to claw at Sesshoumaru's face if given a chance.

_I should totally give that asshole a taste of his own medicine!_ Speaking of that asshole, he turned to glare at his brother, totally unappeased when he saw that Sesshoumaru was sporting a smirk that looked misplaced on his ever impassive face.

" SesSHOUMARU!", Inuyasha growled. His brain was formulating the best ways to get revenge on his brother. _Right._ _Definitely not now alright, but later. I'll strike when the asshole least expects it._ With his anger now turned to confidence, Inuyasha got out of the stream and pointedly ignored his brother, walking past and stopping a few distance from Sesshoumaru with a smug look on his face before proceeding to shake himself dry like a common mongrel.

"You Mutt! Cease doing that at once! You are dirtying milord even further!" , Inuyasha heard Jaken reprimanding him. _Well who cares, _Inuyasha grumbled_. The bastard deserves it anyways, _he mentally growled. _Just. You. Wait. Sesshoumaru! _With that, Inuyasha leaped onto the branch, collected his haori and went deeper into the woods, away from his brother and the annoying green toad.

X.

It was nightfall when Sesshoumaru found Inuyasha sleeping at the base of an old Magnolia tree. A part of him wanted to kick Inuyasha awake while a part of him was nagging to just sit there with his brother till dawn. While he bathed earlier that day, Sesshoumaru had decided that the best way was to ask for Inuyasha's help. _Not that I need his help_, he assured himself. _It's just that this Sesshoumaru wants Inuyasha to take care of Rin and run off with her in case anything happens to me. In case, that fool decides to use another one of his tricks that might render me weak again. If that happens, Rin... she will be at risk. I cannot let it happen. Her safety comes first,_ he tried to reason with himself. _Even if it means this Sesshoumaru has to give up his dignity._

His thoughts were suddenly disturbed by a rustling sound and he quickly turned his head just in time to see Inuyasha splashing a bucket of water on his person.

X.

Inuyasha had felt his brother's aura approaching while he was sleeping. Years of animosity between them had taught him to be alert towards his brother's aura even when he's still a distance away from him. Naturally, he had woken up immediately and then remembered what he had planned to do to Sesshoumaru. Tilting his head to check that the bucket of water was still there, he then tried hard to slow down his heartbeat so that his brother would think he's asleep. It seemed that Inuyasha was successful in his revenge mission. Because standing in front of him, was a very wet and angry Sesshoumaru.

" That's what you get for makin me jump into the stream, asshole!" Inuyasha said gleefully before turning and running away from his brother. _Escape while you can! _His mind screamed at him. His life was gonna end, but it was totally worth it to see the look on Sesshoumaru's face when he was startled.

Meanwhile, Sesshoumaru was trying to dry himself off with his youki. It did work alright, but to a small extent. Unable to control himself, Sesshoumaru let off a fear inducing growl that could send shivers up anyone's spine and cause enemies to drop and flee from the battlefield upon hearing it.

"INUYASHA!"

X.

It was the hardest run that Inuyasha had had since Kagome's death. While running to save his sorry ass from his brother, Inuyasha suddenly thought back on those old days when he would run with Kagome perched on his back. Running to find Naraku. Running away from Koga. Running with Sango, Miroku and Shippo on Kilala's back. Running to the top of their favorite hill so that they could have a private picnic at the top, just the two of them. _Kagome...why'd you have to go? Why'd you have to leave me? All alone like this... _Inuyasha began to slow down his pace without even realizing it, as his mind became gradually caught up on those days. The days that he felt the happiest. Involuntarily, his eyes began to water as he remembered those happy moments back then. Then, as though he had forgotten his initial reason for running, Inuyasha came to a sudden halt before letting go of his pent up feelings of longing and loneliness through his tears that were now pouring down his tanned cheeks.

Sesshoumaru was already gaining on his brother and was preparing to strike when he suddenly smelled the scent of tears. Correction, his brother's tears. _Inuyasha, crying? Why, is he afraid of what I'll do to him after what he did? That coward_, Sesshoumaru mocked silently.

The Lord of the Western Lands came to a stop directly in front of Inuyasha, his feet landing on the forest floor without a sound despite him panting heavily. Chasing after Inuyasha in his still-recovering form had apparently used up much effort and energy. His perfect facial features were lacking its usual calm and impassiveness. Instead, it had a hint of curiosity carved onto it. Sesshoumaru simply did not believe that his brother would shed tears just because he was afraid of him. No; obviously something was disturbing his brother, he figured.

Slowly, Sesshoumaru walked forward, his eyes all trained on the hanyou's form, all in all resembling a predator locking its target on its prey. Inuyasha was so deeply lost in his well of misery that he failed to notice his brother coming. _Either that, or he simply thought this Sesshoumaru is of no threat. Hn. Fool_, the youkai mentally scoffed at the ridiculousness of the latter. As he got closer, he carefully leaned forward and proceeded to place a hand on Inuyasha's shoulder without further thought.

Inuyasha was immediately brought out of his reverie as he felt a light touch on his right shoulder. His breath hitched in his throat as he realized just whom the hand belonged to. He tilted his head, a pair of golden orbs trailing slowly from the pale, sharp clawed hand to the red markings on the wrist and then finally all the way up to the owner's face. _Sesshoumaru. _His eyes widened in that second as reality hit him back. _He's here to kill me._ _And for the first time, I've failed to sense him. Nice work, Inuyasha_, he mentally congratulated himself. He was about to grab the arm off his shoulder and retaliate when he was caught by surprise at what was about to happen next.

Sesshoumaru bent his knee and lowered himself so that he towered just slightly above him, his eyes never leaving Inuyasha's. Their faces were just inches apart from each other and he could see that Inuyasha was going to retaliate any moment. Slowly, so that his brother won't think he was going to attack, Sesshoumaru shifted his arm closer to the hanyou's face and using his thumb, he wiped away the telltale signs of tears off Inuyasha's face.

When it came to Inuyasha- and Rin sometimes- Sesshoumaru couldn't help but follow his instincts. Somehow, they always manage to make his inner instincts overpower his rationality. And he didn't like that. He was a disciplined youkai; he had trained for years to hide his emotions as his sensei had taught him that emotions are a weakness against enemies. Therefore acting on instincts just didn't bode well on him.

Looking down at his brother, Sesshoumaru could already read Inuyasha like a book. His facial expression was perplexed and at the same time, it screamed ' why?', begging to know why he did that; but for once, the youkai didn't have an answer to that.

" Do not ask me, Inuyasha. I...do not have an answer to why I did that. Perhaps this Sesshoumaru simply cannot stand the salty tang of your tears. " he paused, before adding, " Tell me, hanyou. What is it that bothers you? Surely this Sesshoumaru isn't the reason for those...tears?"

There was a momentary silence between the two brothers as Inuyasha contemplated on what to tell his brother. _Shit. I can't just tell him I'm having some girl moment here, _he thought. _The asshole would definitely __laugh_ _at me. Anyway, why is he acting so concerned now? Ain't he suppose to kill me already?_

" Keh! I'm just feeling all messed up, Sesshoumaru! Don't _mind_ me ", he grumbled, finally breaking the silence between them. The look he received next told him that his brother wasn't satisfied with his response.

"What? You don't like the answer? Jeez, t's not _my_ problem ", he spat. Finding no response, Inuyasha looked up to find his brother suddenly leaning even closer to him, with a misplaced smirk that told him something bad was gonna happen: without warning, Sesshoumaru proceeded to lick- first Inuyasha's right, then left cheek- and so, completely wiping away the evidence of tears off him.

" What the- Yuck! Yuck! Stop it, you asshole!", Inuyasha yowled as he placed his hands on his brother's shoulder and pushed him away. Hard.

" That was for dumping water on my person, imbecile."

X.

Thanks for the reviews! Hope you guys liked this chapter though! Was so busy with mid yr exams...=/


	4. Author's Note

Author's note

Hi guys, I'm back from my long hiatus. I'm so sorry about that, I had a major exam late last year so I had to fully focus on my studies. Now, I'm on a lonnng break before Uni officially starts.

I just wanna check if you guys are still interested in reading this story? Coz I'm afraid you guys might have lost interest in this story coz of the long hiatus. Just checking though, please comment! If there are enough people that's still interested in reading the rest of the chapters, I'll continue asap.

Love,

Author


End file.
